Every time New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler takes the mound for games against the Boston Red Sox, it means a little bit more to him than others.
Schlittler, the prohibitive and consensus favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award this season, seems to pitch well against all his opponents. But when he steps on the bump against Boston, he throws with extra emphasis. It's not just because of the century-plus rivalry between the two franchises in the AL East, though.
The right-handed starter is originally from Massachusetts and grew up a fan of the Red Sox. He also roots for the Boston Bruins in the NHL and was named after former Bruins star Cam Neely.
During the postseason in the American League Wild Card Series last year, Schlittler tossed
a gem with an eight-inning shutout to help his team advance to the next round. After the game, he taunted Boston fans on social media.
He said that this season, he received death threats before his first starting appearance at his hometown Fenway Park. The pitcher added that he is good at "keeping receipts" and will use it as motivation against the team that he grew up supporting.
Schlittler has thrown 32.1 innings pitches with 39 strikeouts, a 0.56 ERA and 0.90 WHIP during five games against Boston. The Yankees have won four of those five appearances.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Yankees-Red Sox rivalry means so much to pitcher Cam Schlittler
